Zarb-e-Azb yiedling encouraging results: PM

MANAMA, Bahrain: Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif on Thursday said Zarb-e-Azb was launched after exhaustion of the option of talks with militants, which could not succeed because the terrorists were not ready to lay down their arms.

He said the pace of progress in the country will increase manifold after establishment of peace through elimination of terrorism.

Addressing a gathering of Pakistani expatriates in Bahrain on Thursday, he said the country is moving on the path of progress.

The PM said the operation against militants had yielded encouraging results with several terrorists killed and several others fled to Afghanistan.

The Prime Minister said the new Afghan President Ashraf Ghani is pro-Pakistan and he has promised to cooperate with Pakistan in the fight against terrorists. He said Pakistan would also reciprocate.

The Prime Minister said special courts were being set up to try terror suspects speedily and bring them to task. He resolved to take the fight against terrorism to the logical conclusion.

Regarding tensions being created by India along border, Nawaz Sharif said his government made sincere efforts to improve relations with the new government in India, but the efforts were not reciprocated.

He said India cancelled the foreign secretary level talks on the pretext of the Pakistani High Commissioner’s meeting with the Kashmir leadership, which has been a practice for 60 years.

He said Pakistan desire to have good relations with all the neighbors.